Beef Farmers of Ontario hands out two awards for pasture and environmental management — and both usually end up with similarities and that was the case in 2020. Both the Mapleseed Pasture Award winner and The Environmental Stewardship Award winners manage large numbers of cows on pasture and have made strategic decisions to intensively manage […] Read more
Tag Archives Environment — page 20
Award winners focus on managing cows and calves on pasture
Fresh water, grazing rotation followed by Mapleseed, TESA winners
Biofuels expect hard hit with reduced travel
Gasoline consumption decline could mean lower corn prices
Glacier FarmMedia – COVID-19 is expected to bring trouble to the biofuel sector and that is already depressing corn and other grain prices. “Biofuel producers are under desperate strain,” Emily Skor, chief executive officer of Growth Energy said in an email. “This is unlike anything we’ve seen before.” Why it matters: Ethanol has put a […] Read more
Farmer ready to cut woodlots to pay carbon tax
Government needs to pay for carbon sinks like woodlots and crops, he says
A Lambton County farmer, a winner of environmental awards, says he is ready to rip out his woodlots to help pay for carbon taxes on his farm. Joe Kerr, his wife and their company own about 1,800 acres, about 365 of which is woodlot. He doesn’t expect to clear it all, because it wouldn’t make […] Read more
The challenge of raising beef and dairy in a desert
Science Notes: Irrigation to feed crops for cattle in western U.S. drops river levels
Humans are using freshwater resources faster than they can be naturally replenished. In the western United States, for example, water extractions from the Colorado River have exceeded total river flow, causing rapid depletion of water storage reservoirs. In addition, as these water sources dry up, species of fish, plants and animals are also adversely impacted. […] Read more
Could Ontario agriculture be a carbon sink?
Professor says it could be done today – if enough imagination and will is employed
Could agriculture be a net-zero carbon emitter, or even a carbon sink? According to Vern Osborne, professor of animal biosciences at the University of Guelph, the answer is yes — and it could be done today, with current technology. During a presentation at the Farms.com Precision Agriculture Conference in London, Osborne detailed the future of […] Read more
Sandhill Cranes continue to cause damage
A resolution to allow seed treatments for control of Sandhill Cranes was passed at the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association annual meeting. The cranes dig up seeds and other crops such as potatoes and cause significant damage when they stop in North Ontario. Mac Emiry, who farms in the Sudbury district has heard that […] Read more
Carbon cost increases concern farmers
Farmers in Ontario felt the pain of a new carbon tax on grain drying in a tough year. But the real concern is when the carbon taxes continue to grow over the next two years
Ontario grain farmers spent more than $12 million to pay the federal carbon tax to dry their grain in 2019, mostly drying corn. Grain Farmers of Ontario calculated that the cost was close to double in 2019 compared to a normal year, due to the high moisture levels in the corn crop this year. Why […] Read more
Farmers pitched as climate solution providers
A new organization aims to bring attention to farmers’ role in climate change mitigation
A coalition of farm groups has launched a new national movement to promote the idea of farmers being a part of creating Canadian climate change solutions. The group, called, Farmers for Climate Solutions is currently made up of organic and environment-focused groups across the country, but aims to include more larger farm organizations, says Brent […] Read more
NFU paper proposes climate, farm income solutions
Making less use of fertilizers as part of integrated operations is one recommendation
The global climate crisis is interlinked with the financial crisis on Canadian farms, according to a new discussion paper from the National Farmers Union, which proposes changes that it said could help the sector become part of the solution to both major issues. Compiled by Darrin Qualman in collaboration with the NFU, the 102-page document […] Read more
Currie appointed to climate change committee
The agriculture sector will have a voice on the premier’s Advisory Committee on Climate Change. Ontario Federation of Agriculture President Keith Currie was recently appointed to the new committee. “I’m pretty excited to have agriculture around the table,” said Currie in an interview. “I think agriculture is climate change’s best-kept secret.” Carbon sequestration by agriculture […] Read more
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